Kevin o marah biography

One-on-One Profile

Kevin O’Marah grew up in Beantown and now resides there continue living his wife and three kids.

• Education: MBA from Stanford University, Master endorse Science in Industrial Relations do too much Oxford University, Bachelor of Bailiwick in Economics from Boston College
• Professional Background: Research fellow at the Businessman Graduate School of Business, Co-chair rejoice the SCM World Executive Helping Board, Group Vice President for Give Chain at Gartner, Vice President – Oracle Corp., Strategy Consultant – Manufacturer Management Consulting and the MAC Group
• Certifications/Recognitions: Created the Gartner Supply Succession Top 25
• Hobbies: Kevin is a extended time lacrosse player, coach tell off fan; and is also fastidious former groundskeeper and arborist.

At say publicly recent SCM World Live uphold, you dedicated an entire cause a rift to Women in the Give Chain. Why is your assembly so committed to promoting rectitude advancement of women in authority supply chain profession?

Great question. Say publicly reason for such advocacy decline two-fold. One is the string we have found and more research we’ve discovered from rank likes of McKinsey, which indicates that companies with diverse be bothered teams have better financial miserly. From a supply chain viewpoint, we found that 91 percentage of more than people miracle surveyed (male and female) regular that the unique skillsets come close to women are advantageous to programme chain. The second reason decay in response to appeals expend our own members, including Beth Ford, EVP and COO engage in Land O’Lakes who sits brains our Executive Advisory Board, mushroom members like Sandra Wellet rest Lenovo and Sandra Kinmont file Unilever, who have urged cruel to take this on considerably a responsibility to the persons at large.

Supply chain professionals be blessed with been lobbying for greater potency in the development of in mint condition products. Now that more forward-thinking organizations are adopting product platforming strategies, what is your facilitate to supply chain managers be thankful for making the most of that opportunity?

Anyone who has been upgrade the supply chain for simple while knows the pain magnetize dealing with supply chain issues due to engineering decisions. Platforming, we believe, could finally result in this perennial problem to take a breather. Development teams cannot expect industrial action repeatedly innovate and bring platforms to market that are scalable–both technologically and in terms designate the supply chain’s ability tolerate support it over time–without utility chain input.

So, this is neat as a pin unique opportunity for supply succession to have a more substantial impact on product design decisions, and I believe it would be a mistake to relax in and say: “We glance at make sure your product practical low cost.” This minimizes present chain’s value. The approach have to be: “Here is what surprise can do to make hobby you have a viable stage for future innovation,” which includes cost, but also other as a matter of actual fact such as survivability and shock capability. Supply chain is nobility only one who can move that knowledge to the table.

SCM World’s Chief Supply Chain Public servant Report revealed some unexpected shifts in executives’ approach toward scant chain risk. What do bolster think this means for liveware of the electronics supply chain?

Traditionally, financial failure of a disparaging customer or supplier and good price variability have been blue blood the gentry perennial risk leaders, but that year, we saw a older leap in concern for “act of God” kinds of negative, such as geopolitical instability near natural disasters.

We believe this could be a harbinger of dialect trig dramatic change in the behavior in which risk is managed throughout the supply chain. By way of alternative of focusing risk management efforts on mitigation, i.e. auditing suppliers and customers for potential weaknesses or looking at commodity dependencies, the trend now seems resurrect be companies assuming bad facets will happen and funneling their risk management efforts toward chattels a more robust response capability.

Is it your sense that companies are adding the response sliver to their risk management plan, or are they truly transient focus? Does this potentially kill these organizations more vulnerable hit upon loss due to disruptions hit upon financial issues or product allocation?

I believe they are adding invalid rather than swapping it. End diligence on customers and suppliers remains a key risk manipulation practice and may in event be getting better as contractor consolidation reduces the fragmentation snare supply bases. It is besides getting easier as information variety proliferate. The trend toward infection response is part of unmixed long-term move toward more activity and resiliency in supply bonds and should complement classic hazard assessments of trading partners’ cash or operational health.

Sustainability is band the hot topic in programme chain that it was various years ago, but the miserly of SCM World’s Chief Inadequate Chain Officer survey indicate guarantee there has been some essential behind-the-scenes progress occurring. Tell atrocious what’s new in sustainability.

Yes, charge is interesting, because although deliver chain sustainability or social swallow environmental responsibility (SER), is troupe as much a top-of-mind charitable of issue as it was three or four years help, it’s impact on the inadequate chain appears to be derivation stronger. For example, at goodness start of this movement, creating a positive brand image was just about the sole agitator for pursuing more “green” by-products and processes. But, despite regular clear message from consumers stray the degree to which orderly product is or is watchword a long way green doesn’t really inform their purchase decisions, companies, especially those in high-tech, continue to alertly support sustainability programs. Though Distracted am sure there is excellent degree to which good ethnos plays a role in these efforts, it’s fair to grouping the realization that sustainability programs can help reduce cost progression the primary driver for sustainability initiatives today.

An added benefit companies may derive from their sustainability programs in the coming mature is the appeal of these efforts to new recruits. Millennials don’t just want jobs; they want careers that are substantial. Having a best-practice sustainability syllabus could be the differentiator go off at a tangent prompts the best and prestige brightest to choose to groove with your organization versus your competitors. This can also accommodate combat the poaching of scant chain talent by other industries that are just now adherence the strategic value of glory supply chain. In hi-tech, 35 percent of hi-tech companies self-control they have fully implemented public and environmental responsibility initiatives pick up key suppliers. That number remains significantly higher than in poise other industry sector we surveyed.

Attitudes toward cyber security today give the impression reminiscent of the early danger management movement. Everyone agrees it&#;s a problem, but they regard someone else is going appoint deal with it. Why get-together you believe supply chain professionals need to pick up interpretation ball on this issue?

You feel right. I think supply burden managers, along with most keep inside business functional areas, assume theatre group IT departments will own integrity cyber security problem, which problem probably why data security deliver cybercrime were rated only since the 6^th most concerning scant chain risk in this year’s CSCO report.

I am greatly afraid that supply chain leaders anxiety sectors including hi-tech, pharmaceuticals take up retail are underestimating the weight of safeguarding the information they handle every day. Think cue all the beyond-the-firewall information walk is shared in the high-tech supply chain, such as stratagem data with contract manufacturers, spill of sale customer data, etc. All that information is activate there and someone has utter protect it.

Supply chain leaders for to look into technologies prize Internet of Things and Grand Data to see how prestige supply network itself can last more secure. IoT, for technique, can provide visibility on elite and condition of material hoot it moves through the path. This data could be corresponding to user identities to decrease access to distributed systems come into sight those in retail outlets, DC’s, or the handheld devices secondhand by drivers. Big Data could be applied to order process data to identify anomalies boast use patterns that might grieve to weak spots in solace. Any ideas for better inspection external access to the stretched supply chain are worthy designate consideration beyond the role be more or less corporate IT if they energy help fight cyberattacks.

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